So my Dad is a Kiwi. We would sit down as a family and watch the Rugby Union Bledisloe Cup, you know, back in the days of real football, the days of Jonah Lomu. My sister and I would do our best imitation of the Haka, while dad would sit in the corner all teary-eyed. He would have tingles down his spine and a lump in his throat. To him the Haka is everything. A war dance that defines a culture. My sister and I would laugh at him.
Finally I am 23 years old and I know how dad feels when he watches the Haka. The same thing happens to me when I watch the slideshow of our journey. It is everything to us. A bike ride that defines a culture. I can watch it anytime, any day of the week.
It took me months to build up the courage to tell my mum I was planning a pushbike ride of continental proportions. The boys and I had a secret meeting with Wayne Staunton on his balcony, and commenced weekly meetings with Jo and Lin from Sold Out National Events Management. And mum was none the wiser. The day Rob Gooch offered the support of Toyota Motor Corporation Australia was the day I told mum of our plans.
I never wanted to tell my mum because I knew she would take me seriously. I needed to keep to a minimum the number of times I would hear "You'll have to take a lot of water" and "I don't want you getting scurvy" and "well, just don't forget to take lots of water."
We have now cycled around Australia, and we didn't run out of water once, so I think we owe our mums and Toyota a big thank you.
Today I have the privilege of thanking our families and people who have chosen to support the tour further by coming to join us on tour. Tom, Matt, and Anthony are my brothers. When you ask Mike and Joanne which son they prefer, me, or Tom, they will probably say Tom. But this doesn't mean I can't call them mum and dad whenever I want.
Likewise when mum and dad fly to Perth just to cook us dinner, we feel very at home. The fact that only Anthony shares there stunningly good looks is not an issue. The company is good. Alex and Chris, we thank you for joining us in Perth.
Matt's dad, Ross, is a father to us all. We recently knighted him with his very own desert name "Gilligan". It's not as elaborate as "Meeerlord Clancy Christopherson Stevador" or "Count Patrick Kirk Kirkpatrick", but it does reflect the weeks he has spent with us in the desert around the Gulf of Carpentaria.
In fact for us the strict guidelines that define family have become jaded. For example our tireless and understanding Toyota Sponsor, Felicity, refers to us as "my boys". She even came up to Forster to cook us bacon and eggs and organise this function. Fliss, does this mean we can call you mum? Thanks mum.
We also have three surrogate fathers, Bones, Frenchy, and Ronnie, a common uncle in Kieran Tapsell, and a brand new cousin in Marky Mark. Many brothers and sisters have come to join us around Australia including Dan, Liv, Amanda, Adam, Ben, George, Lauren, Jaeger, Al, J, Georgia, Jess, Ross, Carey, and of course our Californian team mates Gus and Mel who rode with us the whole way around Tasmania.
On a personal note I want to also thank my birth father for flying here today from Hong Kong, and for riding with us over 400km after your heart operation. And to my brother Dan and my sister Liv, I love you both, and therefore anticipate some very decent presents when we celebrate Christmas tomorrow.
Although Tom, Matt, and Anthony are ok to hang out with from time to every time, we thank these people who have joined us and helped us reinvent the tour, and to the extended MyPOWER family that includes everyone who is here tonight and more, I hope we have made you proud.
Mereki@mypower.org.au